Virtualization, Cloud, Infrastructure and all that stuff in-between

I recently received an Amazon Kindle 3 as a belated leaving present from my old team, which was very kind.

I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks now and I’ve been very impressed, I have been a long-term die-hard dead-tree book fan and have a lot of tech-books at home so I didn’t think I would easily convert to the electronic format.

I also have had an iPad for a while, and it’s transformed (dominated!?) the way my family use the Internet and computers at home so as a net-result I don’t take the iPad away with me on trips or in my bag as they would probably suffer withdrawal symptoms .

The iPad is an excellent multi-media device and also has the Kindle application so can do as much as the dedicated Kindle device itself, however it’s also 4 times as expensive as a Kindle and I am that bit more conscious about breaking/losing it whilst chucking it around the country and the Kindle screen isn’t as reflective as the iPad.

I’m sure it’s not just novelty factor but I’ve actually read some fiction, non-related work books on it – which is something I’ve not managed with paper books for some time.

What I like about the Kindle;

• Very lightweight and small
• Cheap device
• Kindle software app for Mac, iPad, PC to access from multiple devices (and an eBook license to match)
• built-in 3G as a back-up (and no subscription required
• Calibre app for side-loading PDFs and converting eBook formats
• Lots of free classic eBooks on the Web
• very readable screen in all type of light

What I don’t like about the Kindle;

• More books need to be released to the Kindle, not everything has a Kindle option – I assume there is some rights, publisher issue here so isn’t entirely in Amazon’s control but Kindle with the built-in book store is good for impulse-buy of books, which I am sure publishers would like
• I would love a dead-tree + eBook Purchase version option, I’d happily pay an extra 20% over the cost of the paperback to have this, then I have a copy for my bookshelf and a copy to take on the road that I can start reading as soon as I purchase.
• It’s a bit slow, but I can take the trade-off against super-long battery life.
• You need a case for it, which adds to the cost, I’ve not bothered with one with a built-in light
• it’s almost criminal that Amazon want to charge a subscription to read blogs on the device, Calibre sort of seems to resolve that.
• It really needs an RSS reader app, leveraging the built-in 3G/WiFi (but maybe Amazon won’t allow that)

So, go and buy one… that’s my recommendation.